There’s a backlash against the plastic bags that various merchants give shoppers to carry goods home with them. The District of Columbia has imposed a 5 cent fee per bag, which applies even to the to-go bags at sandwich shops. The EU is considering banning them altogether but is now looking at some sort of fee system, too.
The bags are ugly and environmentally unfriendly, although I do at least recycle many of mine for diaper disposal (which, of course, ensures they’ll never degrade) and other sundry uses. We’d be better off if more of us brought re-usable bags to the store.
What’s odd about all this, though, is that I remember the days when stores were making the transition from the old style brown paper bags to the newfangled plastic ones–in the name of the environment.
